Veiled Intentions
by Sage of Darkness
Summary: It isn’t an easy life being a superhero. Six months after the Ark incident, Sonic, Tails and the rest are trying to adapt to normal lives. However, it is not long before they are tangled in a plot of lies and corruption, and not everyone is as they seem
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge, and just about anything else you recognise belongs to Sega. This story is created for Entertainment purposes only and no commercial profit is being made through the use of these characters.  
  
A/N: What exists of this story was actually written quite some time ago, so the setting is based six months after the events of Sonic Adventure 2, and do not take into account anything that happens in Sonic Heroes. Please let me know what you think, so that I may decide whether or not to continue this work!  
Thanks, and happy reading.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Icy night air caressed Rouge's bare arms, sending violent shivers rippling through her body. Her fur stood on end, making her look unflatteringly like a cotton ball. She hadn't wanted to do this assignment so late, and certainly not on a night like this, but she felt she had no other choice. Time was swiftly running out. Once discovering she had made it to the island, her superiors had instructed her to bring the Master Emerald to them within a week, and she only had two days left. Besides, he was getting suspicious. The sooner she got the emerald and got out of there, the better.  
Angel Island was nothing like Rouge had expected. From what she had heard it was supposed to be a beautiful, sun-drenched paradise. Hail, ice and snow did not fit into her idea of sun-drenched, yet she'd encountered plenty of each so far. This unusual weather was all the more strange for the fact that it was in mid-summer back on the surface.  
  
Finding and reaching the island had been no easy task. It had taken months of work- questioning people, keeping Knuckles under constant surveillance whenever she could, devising ways to gain passage to the seemingly inaccessible place. But she had persevered. After all, you didn't become one of the world's greatest treasure hunters without learning a thing or two.  
Still, even with all her planning, this assignment worried her. The government had never taken special interest in the jewels she treasured so much; other than being her form of pay, of course. But she had mentioned the Master Emerald to them in passing, which she now realised had been a mistake. They had taken interest. Too much interest. And now they wanted it as their own. Her emerald, she thought angrily. The one she had been working for so long to retrieve. She should have turned down the mission then and there. But the government did not look too kindly upon agents who put their own interests above theirs. People disappear. She'd seen it happen.  
  
The slight crackle of a leaf as Knuckles shifted his weight brought her mind back to the current situation. She had to get the emerald, no matter what. What she would do with it later could be figured out afterwards. Rouge studied the red echidna dutifully standing guard over the enormous jewel, still looking alert despite the ungodly hour. Why had she given him her shards, all those months ago? If she had kept them to herself, she wouldn't be here now suffering this frigid cold in the dark. She guessed she had thought at the time it would have been easier to steal it back from him later as a full emerald, rather than trying to assemble all the shards alone. And as much as she hated to admit it, he had saved her life. Why he had done so was beyond her. After all, they had been deadly rivals. If the situation had been reversed, she doubted she would have done the same. It was probably as he said, he was merely saving the Master Emerald. Still, it did make her wonder.  
  
Watching Knuckles for the next fifteen minutes showed he was just as alert as ever, forcing her to come to a decision. Obviously the sleeping gas she had pumped into the clearing had not, for whatever reason, worked. Which meant she would have to take a less passive approach. She sighed as she removed her gas mask and equipped her Pick Nails. Secured tight, she checked her iron boots were still firmly laced. She was ready, but still she hesitated. She was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this. Hurting him would complicate things. And all creatures need to sleep, right? She had figured that she could quite easily take the jewel while Knuckles was unconscious. But seeing as he had so stubbornly refused to fall asleep, she would have to do something about it herself.  
  
Letting go of the tree branch silently, she glided gently to the ground, landing a short distance behind the echidna. Hearing the clank of her iron boots, Knuckles spun around to find himself trapped in a pair of vivid blue eyes. His surprised expression melted into angry recognition.  
"Wha-"  
He was interrupted by an iron boot smashing the left side of his skull. Stunned, his mouth gaped like a fish, but no words came out. Slightly cross-eyed, he dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Rouge grabbed the emerald and fled, hoping she had done no permanent damage. As much as she resented him, she had no wish to hurt him. At least not severely. She told herself that in a way it was his own fault- Knuckles should have given her the emerald in the first place. It should have been hers all along, after all. All jewels belonged to her. Somehow, she wasn't convinced.  
  
Back on the surface of the planet, in what really was a sun-drenched paradise, Sonic was relaxing on a beach, relishing the fact that he could relax at all. All of this Ark business had taken a lot out of him, even though that was months past now. When the world didn't demand of him to be a hero, he was carefree (or lazy, as Tails would have put it) at heart, and the beach was his ideal environment. As long as he didn't have to go in the water, of course. Well, it would have been an ideal environment if not for the fact that Amy Rose, as always, had somehow found him and rushed to his side, the thought never crossing her bubbly mind that he might actually like to have some time alone. He swore, sometimes she was annoying him deliberately; trying to get under his skin. But no, she wouldn't be clever enough for that. Sure, she was kind and despite being annoying was nice as far as personality went, but when it came to intelligence... well, metaphorically speaking she wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box.  
  
"Do you like my bikini Sonic? I bought it earlier today! All these holiday sales are just wonderful, you know. And so I thought, well, I'd better try them out at the beach, just to make sure that it was waterproof and all, nasty things those bathers that aren't waterproof, and there you were! What a coincidence that we went to the same beach on the same day at the same time, isn't it Sonic? Do you think that a red one would have suited me better, though? As you would have surely noticed, I usually wear red, but the red that the store had was like a totally ugly shade! Besides, I need to have some more variety in my closet so that's why I got these dark blue ones. Do you think blue suits me, Sonic? I wasn't sure at all but the shop assistant told me how wonderful I looked in it and as you know shop assistants never lie, it's against their code of ethics y'know, so I just had to get it. Come to think of it, a shop assistant has never told that I looked bad in anything. And I've been shopping for years! I guess I'm just lucky, aren't I Sonic? ...Sonic? you're being really quiet you know. That's not like you at all. Hello?" She poked him in the belly with a nearby stick.  
"Oww!" Sonic exclaimed. "What on earth did you do that for?" She shrugged.  
"Just to see if you were listening. Anyway, it was at about that time that I saw the school bus full of blind people go past except they didn't see me because, y'know, they're blind? And I thought..." Sonic once again tuned out Amy's senseless rambling, trying to focus all his thoughts entirely on the endless blue expanse before him. Not for the first time, he wished that he had learnt how to swim. Oh sure, with a good mouthful of air he could wander around the bottom for a short time, but it just wasn't the same as Tails' ability. He would have to ask him to give him a few lessons someday.  
As though she had been reading his thoughts, Amy remarked "...and so that's why I ate the really expensive gelati containing all ten flavours, even lemon. Hey, why don't we go for a swim?"  
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Don't you seem to be forgetting something?"  
"Oh, just a little paddle won't harm you. Don't worry, I wouldn't let a great hero like you drown!"  
"I don't really-"  
"Oh, come on Sonic!" Amy exclaimed, dragging him by the arm. "It will be fun! It's way too hot to stay out of the water anyway!"  
Sonic had to admit, the water was nice once you got in there, all cool and refreshing. He'd taken a few more tentative steps out when Amy impatiently grabbed his arm and dragged him out much further. He started to feel uneasy. His feet could only just touch the bottom and he was afraid of losing contact with it at any second. Amy didn't appear to have any such qualms. She paddled around happily, playfully (annoyingly) splashing water in his face now and then.  
  
He was facing towards the shore when he was pulled under. Caught by surprise, he had no time to draw a breath. Salt water enveloped him, claustrophobic and terrifying. It stung his eyes, swirled around his ears, tried to creep down his throat. He panicked, thrashing violently, trying desperately to reach that shining barrier only a short distance above. He was trapped! Something had caught him in a vice grip around his ankle, and he couldn't dislodge it. Frantically, he aimed wild kicks at it, hammered it with his fists, limbs flying in all directions. Just before his lungs were about to burst, with one well-aimed kick it released him and he dashed toward the surface.  
That first ragged breath he drew as he broke through the barrier was pure bliss. His eyes and nose were running, his ears were still clogged with water and he had somehow swallowed a mouthful of sand, but he was alive.  
Amy popped up from beneath the surface behind him, looking pale. She splashed her way to his side.  
"Oh Sonic! Are you okay? You just disappeared! I was so worried! I tried diving down and looking for you, but I couldn't see you anywhere! Are you sure you're okay?"  
"Never been better," Sonic asserted shakily, his sentence punctuated with a watery cough. "It takes more than just some plain old sea water to hurt me." He attempted weakly to smile.  
"Come on, let's get you back to shore." Amy said, taking most his weight onto her shoulder. Sonic was in shock. What had just happened? He was sure seaweed wouldn't've had such a vice-like grip on his leg. Who or what would want him hurt? Or even dead? He hoped for his own sake that he was just being paranoid.  
  
'Too close Amy, way too close," Amy chided herself silently with a frown. Aware that Sonic was looking at her, she plastered a sickly-sweet smile on her face and resumed her senseless rambling.  
  
The moment Knuckles woke up he regretted it. Pain seared though his skull like a bushfire, setting his mind aflame, burning the nerve endings with gut-wrenching ferocity. Trying to sit up was torture. He groaned and slumped back on the ground, vertigo overwhelming him. With carefully probing fingers, he felt his head where it stung the most. His hand came back dripping red. What on earth had happened to him? More cautiously this time, he slowly drew himself upright, pain fighting him every part of the way. He immediately leaned on a nearby tree-trunk as the world spun around crazily. Trying to quell his dizziness, he thought back to last night. He had been guarding the emerald as usual, when he had been attacked from behind by... by... that bat girl! She must have the emerald! He realised in a rush. He had to get it back. Who knew, if not Eggman, what vile creep she was working for this time.  
  
Casting his gaze skyward, he could see that dawn was not far off. He mustn't have been knocked out for too long. With some luck, she would still be on the island. Yes, he could feel it now. The pulse from the emerald that was as familiar to him as his own heartbeat. It wasn't far away.  
  
Gathering his strength, he staggered off into the forest. He would have time to collapse later on. For now, the Master Emerald was his number one priority. 


	2. Chapter 2

  
  
He was happy. His size belied his child-like nature as he chased his friend through shining grey corridors. Blonde hair flashed as she turned a corner, disappearing from sight. Feet pounding on metal floors. Her laughter echoed all around him. Dodge around the robot. He turned another corner and there she was, standing before a starry landscape. He pounced and they tumbled down in a heap, a mess of limbs, clothing and quills. She laughed as she detangled herself, helping her assailant to his feet. Catching his breath he stared out of the ship window, naturally curious. Something caught his eye and he stared at it in wonder. Round like a slightly squished ball it was impossibly beautiful, a patchwork of blue, green and swirling white.  
"What is it?" He asked in wonder. She smiled.  
"That's the earth, silly."  
Bored with the conversation, she tapped him lightly on the shoulder and took off, vanishing into another corridor. With a laugh he followed, nearly knocking over a scientist in the process. The endless game would go on.  
  
Shadow's eyes fluttered in confusion as he woke up, utterly disorientated. Where was he? His limbs tangled up in the sheets as he swung to look at his surroundings. Where was the metal? The robots? Even the boring scientists were missing. Where was Maria?  
'Maria's gone,' the more logical part of his mind told him. 'Get up'  
He groaned as it all came back to him. Maria's death. The long dull years of being frozen, not aging but faintly aware of the passage of time. His release by Dr Eggman, and the following havoc. His sacrifice. Why was he still alive? He didn't want to be. He had wanted to destroy all the evil the doctor had created, including himself. No living creature could survive a fall through the atmosphere like that. He could remember so vividly the suffocating heat, skin blackening and cracking open, the smell of his cooked flesh repulsively appealing. But, although his body had been severely bloodied and broken when he landed in the sea, he survived. Maybe he really was the world's ultimate life form. The current washed him up on a nearby shore, and some humans who had found him took him to the hospital. Those following days were all a painful blur. All he could recall was the constant fierce ache of the broken bones in his body, the acrid scent of a thousand different chemicals, the less than appetising food. He never found out who his rescuers were. He would have surely died if he had been left on the beach as he was. They had even taken care of his medical fees.  
  
Once recovered, he used the rings he had accumulated during the whole Ark incident to buy himself a nice apartment in central Station Square. He had spent the last two months there sitting around trying to figure out what to do with himself. He was done with world conquest, he'd never work with Eggman again. Maria wouldn't have wanted that.  
She was constantly on his thoughts. He hadn't had much time to think about her, seeing as he had been off and taking over the world as soon as he had been thawed. But now it had sunk in, really sunk in. Maria had been his friend. Only friend, really. In her short life she'd shown him how wonderful existence could be. And in her death how terrible it was without her. He supposed he had loved her, if such a forsaken creature as he could feel that way. Her heroic sacrifice was painfully unfair. She had saved his life with the price of her own, when she had deserved to live more than anyone else on this planet. Why couldn't they both live? Life lacked meaning now. Without her, how could he be anything other than what everyone expected him to be: a senseless killer?  
  
Shadow finally dragged himself out of bed and made himself some breakfast, reading the newspaper whilst he ate. It was all the same monotonous rubbish to him- new fad diet causes cancer, another violent war in a distant country, an election coming up soon- who cares? What was there worth caring about anymore?  
He was about to close the paper when a small article in the corner caught his eye, causing him to nearly choke on his piece of toast in disbelief. It wasn't the heading, 'Local Chao Kindergarten Teacher wins Teacher of the Year Award", that caught his attention, but it was the small, blurry, black and white photo of the teacher in question. It was her! The name may have been slightly wrong, 'Marien Rubetec', but papers get things like that wrong all the time, right? Quickly jotting down the street address of the kindergarten, Shadow raced out the door, not bothering to finish his breakfast. It had to be Maria! If he could just find her, perhaps the world would start to make sense. Life would mean something again. He felt he had finally found something worth fighting for.

---

Knuckles' stomach twisted painfully within him, and not for the first time he emptied its contents in a nearby bush. Whatever Rouge had done to him had seriously messed him up. If the Master Emerald were not at stake he would have stopped a long time ago to recuperate. But of course, he could not afford to indulge in such a luxury. It was his duty to protect the Master Emerald, and he would not, could not stop until it was safe once more.  
The intense pounding of his head was making it hard to feel the Emerald's signal, but from what he could gather he was very close. Which worried him. A short way to his left was the chasm, a deep valley kilometres across he had never explored for fear of getting lost. It was dangerous. If Rouge had gone down there, the Master Emerald was good as gone.  
  
A clump of snow fell heavily onto Knuckles' shoulder, causing him to stagger and fall, grazing his hands on the grainy snow. He'd never seen so much snow on the island before, and never during the summer. Between his hands a mark in the snow caught his eye. A footprint! It must be Rouge's! No one else he knew wore iron boots, anyway. It looked fresh.  
Wasting no time, Knuckles followed the tracks, leading out of the thicket of trees and alarmingly close to the edge of the chasm. So intent on the tracks, he didn't notice the bat until he walked into her himself.  
  
"Oof! Hey, watch where you're going you- Knuckles!" She was clearly surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"  
"I should be the one asking that question! Isn't it perfectly clear to you now that the Master Emerald belongs to me? What happened to it stinking like Echidnas?" Knuckles snapped.  
"Well, I never said it was a bad smell. I figured I could get used to it after a while. Besides, how could I leave such a jewel to the likes of you? Jewels of that quality need to be treated with respect! I'm surprised it's still in one piece, the way you handle it!"  
"You think I don't know how to look after the Master Emerald?! Do you know just how many years I've been guarding that damn thing? It would certainly take more than what you've got, anyway!"  
"The way you're talking it sounds as though you would want to be rid of it!" They were yelling at each other by this stage. Neither noticed the deep rumbling that was shaking the ground.  
"Oh look, of course I don't want to be rid of it! Just give it back to me, and maybe I'll let you go!"  
"Hah, and you think you could stop me?!"  
"I stopped you back on Ark and I could stop you again!"  
"I gave you the pieces of emerald!"  
"Right after I saved your life! And this is how you repay me?"  
"Argh, there's no point in trying to reason with you! Just let me go and-"  
Rouge was cut off as the rumbling grew to a roar. They both stared at each other.  
"What on earth is that?" She asked. He just glanced at her, eyes wide.  
"Run!" They both dove for the cover of the trees, but it was too late. The avalanche poured in like an icy waterfall, sweeping up everything in its way. Including Knuckles and Rouge. Helpless to resist, they were thrown over the edge of the cliff, falling for what seemed like an eternity...

---

'Seventy six Stanley road, seventy six Stanley road... I can't see it! I've been all the way up and down here five times, and there is no seventy six!' Shadow was frustrated. he was so, so close to finding his Maria once more, and he couldn't even locate the bloody kindergarten!  
'Seventy six, seventy six...' He glanced at his piece of paper. Maybe he had written it down wrong. Come to think of it, that seven did look an awful lot like a one. With one more short glance for seventy six, he renewed his search with sixteen. Sixteen, sixteen... aha! There it was, right under his nose the whole time.  
  
He was glad there was no one around to witness his foolishness. Shadow wasn't supposed to make mistakes like that, just like any other person. He was special. He was the world's ultimate life form! He was... ah, forget it, he was nothing. He knew he was deluding himself. That big ugly lizard thing he had destroyed was the real ultimate life form. The prototype of it, anyway. He was... a mistake, maybe. Some kind of experiment. Who knew? He was here now, no matter how that came to be.  
  
He stared up at the sign. 'Station Square Chao-care Centre. For Chao of all ages.' This is it. Finally, to see Maria again, after all these years! Suddenly, fear gripped him. What if she didn't recognise him? Further more, what if she didn't want to see him at all? Rejection had never mattered much to him before, but the prospect of it now was tearing him apart inside.  
'Only one way to find out, Shadow,' he told himself. 'Don't be such a wuss.'  
  
Swallowing his doubt, he reached for the door knob and, after a slight hesitation, turned it, entering the small building. An empty room. It was a very small place, not dissimilar to the other kindergarten he had visited a few times whilst trying to take over the world. Of the few doors in the room, he figured the classroom would be his best bet, so he turned to the closest door to the left and pushed it open. He was greeted by the sight of five Chao of varying alliances sitting in a circle, all finger painting. Which was strange, seeing as Chao don't possess fingers of any shape or description. There seemed to be more paint on the Chao than the paper. There was no teacher in sight. At the sound of the door opening, they all turned and stared at him. He shifted uncomfortably.  
"Uh, hi. Would any of you know where Maria is?" They looked at him blankly. A hero-type Chao crawled up to him and begged for a pat. He obliged the little creature, looking around the room. The walls were colourful to the point that they hurt his eyes, with what must have been Chao paintings hanging on the walls everywhere. It was the kind of room he was sure he could go crazy in if left there too long.  
  
There was a noisy squeak as the door was opened. Turning around, His breath caught in his throat...

---

Rouge never remembered the actual impact. Which she was glad for, because it would have been terrible hearing her limb snap. Rather, she remembered the moments afterwards, finding herself metres deep in the icy snow, her right arm crushed with unmeasurable pain beneath her. A ragged gasp escaped her lips as she attempted to move. Her arm was surely broken, there was no way it could possibly hurt that much without there being something seriously wrong with it.  
At least she still had the emerald. She could feel its point digging painfully into the side of her leg. All this effort, for a jewel she couldn't even keep. She'd better get a damn good reward for all this.  
  
She stayed motionless, for fear of damaging her arm more. The snow was starting to numb her, blissfully calming the fierce pain. Perhaps if she stayed there long enough it wouldn't hurt at all. It wasn't too bad, lying there in the crystaline whiteness. Warning bells were faintly sounding in the back of her mind, but she pushed them away. So tired. Her eyelids felt as heavy as cement. There, as she was lying in the snow drift, they fluttered closed...

---  
  
It wasn't her. His heart sank as soon as he saw her face. It was a remarkable likeness, true, but it was no Maria. This face, although not a cruel one, lacked the warmth Maria's had always possessed. Marien looked rather alarmed when she saw him.  
"Don't touch that Chao! He's not yours! Who are you and what are you doing here?" She snapped, briskly snatching up the Chao Shadow had been petting.  
"I was just-"  
"You were just nothing! The lesson is not over, you can't pick up any Chao yet, although none of these are yours anyway, and it's obvious you have none to drop off! Now get out before I call the police!"  
"There's no need to get upset, he just wanted a-"  
"No need? These Chao are my responsibility! I don't need filthy strangers putting their perverted hands all over them! Now, leave!"  
"Perverted? How dare you call me a-"  
Marien grabbed the phone, glaring menacingly at him over the receiver. Shadow took the hint and left, slamming the door on his way out. Definitely not Maria. She would never be that distrustful. How on earth had that lady become teacher of the year?  
  
He walked away from the place in a daze. Why had he let his hopes get up so high? He'd known Maria was dead for a long time. How did a woman with a faint resemblance of her change all that, make him hope against hope that somehow, she'd made it, saved herself? But it was not to be.  
  
'You know,' he thought, 'Maria would not have wanted you moping around after her all the time. She would have wanted you to live your life to the fullest. I've finally made it to Earth, like we always talked about, and all I've done is try and destroy it and worry about her. Well, no more. I'm gonna find out just what all the fuss is all about, I'm going to-' A pink arm shot out and grabbed his wrist.  
"Hey, watch out!" The owner of the pink arm exclaimed. "You nearly just walked in front of a car! You could have killed yourself!" He blinked in confusion.  
"I would have seen it." Shadow muttered defensively, moving to walk away. But the person prevented him, holding on to his wrist with a vice grip. Looking down at her, he jumped slightly in surprise. Her reaction was more extreme.  
"Shadow?! Oh my god, I thought you were dead! We all thought you were dead! How did you survive that fall?" Amy threw her arms around Shadow's waist. He just stared down at her. People didn't tend to hug him often.  
"I'm not sure," He admitted. "Just lucky, I guess."  
"Lucky indeed!"  
"Look, I'm kinda busy, I'd better keep moving." This encounter was starting to make him uncomfortable.  
"Oh, sure, of course. Hey wait," Amy grabbed a piece of paper out of her handbag and scribbled on it. "This is my address. You should drop by sometime, it would be so great. I'm sure everyone would be happy to see you again."  
"If you say so." Seeing no way out of it, Shadow took the piece of paper. "See you round."  
"Bye, Shadow the Hedgehog!" She winked, then disappeared into the crowd, leaving Shadow dumbfounded for the second time that day.

---

Covered in grease, Tails slid from under the plane to pick up another tool. It was heaven, to have all this time to work on his machines rather than using them. He was currently making some modifications to the Tornado, to generally make it move faster and use weapons more accurately. Finding the tool he needed, he was about to move back under the machine when a beeping came from his tool belt. With an exaggerated sigh, he gave the mobile phone an annoyed look before answering it. Never should have bought the annoying thing.  
  
"Hello?"  
"Ah Tails, so good to hear your voice again." A cold shiver ran down Tail's spine. He knew this voice all too well.  
"Doctor Eggman?! Why are you calling me? Who have you captured? What have you done to Sonic?"  
"Tails, my boy, calm down, I haven't done anything to anyone. Can't a reformed evil genius call one of his former rivals for a... friendly chat?"  
"Reformed?" Tails snorted in disbelief. "Since when did you reform?"  
"Oh Tails, I'm so hurt. Surely you've missed my presence for the last six months since Ark? I've given up world domination. Too much hard work, and too many people like Sonic trying to stop me. I'm now trying to help people with my inventions."  
"That's good," Tails commented cautiously, "but what has that got to do with me?"  
"Cut straight to the chase, don't you? Very well. I've always admired your technical expertise, Tails, and I was hoping you would be willing to work on a rather large project with me."  
"What kind of project? If you're expecting me to help you build some kind of massive weapon, you can forget it."  
"Oh of course not, nothing like that. The machine's prime use would be to remove the animals safely from inside my robots, which I will destroy. It has other uses too, but it's all rather complicated and difficult to explain over the phone. Why don't you drop by the base and take a look?"  
"You swear this isn't a trick?"  
"Cross my heart and hope to die." His voice was sarcastic, but Tails found himself believing him. Still, he hesitated.  
"I'll think about it."  
"Hope to see you soon." There was a click as Eggman hung up. Tails stared at the Tornado. It didn't really need any work at the moment. Everything was working fine and although the speed could be improved, it was only a minor issue. But then again, how can he trust Eggman? He had fooled them many times before, from tricking Knuckles into giving him the Super Emeralds years ago to kidnapping Tails himself even earlier. However, what Eggman has said was true- he hadn't attacked them since Ark, and they had worked well together then to save their lives.  
  
Tails put down the spanner he was carrying, and headed into the house. If he was going to Eggman's lab, he'd better have a shower first. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. The constant noise disturbed Rouge from her dazed state. 'What's that?' She thought groggily. 'Go away, I'm trying to sleep.' The cause of the sound must not have been able to read her thoughts, for the scratching continued. It was getting louder. Rouge's eyes forced themselves shut. Must sleep. Must drift away and never come back, away from the coldness of this ice.  
The scratching was starting to get unbearable when a spiked fist thrust through the layer of ice, grazing her leg. She voiced a feeble protest. The fresh oxygen swiftly cleared her mind. As the fists cleared away more of the ice, a spiky red head came into view.  
"Long time no see, treasure hunter." She muttered weakly. She weakly scowled at him as he retrieved the emerald from where it had landed by her leg, checking for damage. Satisfied, he shrank it down to a more transportable size. He stared down at Rouge.  
"This isn't a great time to be sleeping, you know." He remarked.  
"I was not sleeping! I can't move! I've been buried under a snow bank!"  
"Well, I'll just have to get you out then, won't I?" He offered her a gloved hand. After a brief glare she accepted it and he pulled her out of the snow. Rouge screamed. She felt as though she had been torn in two. "Sorry," Knuckles winced in sympathy, "you should have told me you were injured."  
"And have you gloat over me? I think not!" Knuckles guided her gently to a nearby rock, where they sat down.  
"Here, let me see what you have done."  
"What? Have you suddenly become a doctor or something?"  
"I have more talents than you realise. Just let me see." Reluctantly, she allowed him to gently probe her arm, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from crying out. Knuckles studied it intently.  
"It's not too bad. The bone hasn't snapped entirely."  
"Not too bad! Would you like me to break your arm so you can see how bad it is?"  
"I just meant it won't take too long to heal. God, you can be so touchy." "You would be too if you were in my shoes!"  
"At least my shoes aren't iron-tipped and stained with another's blood."  
"If you had breathed in the bloody sleeping gas I wouldn't have had to hurt you!" Knuckles growled in frustration.  
"Look. If you make me much angrier I won't help you, and I don't like your chances of getting out of here without me, injured as you are. So just shut up for a minute, alright? I need to bind it straight. You wait here." Rouge bit back a retort as she watched him search the area for sticks. Considering several, he tossed away the ones he didn't like. Finally finding one appropriate, he returned to Rouge. She looked at him with apprehension.  
"You're not going to hurt me with that, are you?"  
"Get real. I told you, we have to bind your arm straight. I can beat you senseless later on. Would you happen to have a belt or anything of the kind on you?"  
"I'm afraid not."  
"We'll have to rip some material from your pants, then."  
"What! Are you mad?! You think I'm going to tear off my pants for you?!"  
"We need material. I don't have anything we can rip up, and I figured you'd rather keep your top half covered."  
"These pants were very expensive, I'll have you know! Italian leather! I had them custom made! I'm not ripping them up."  
"Would you rather have a useless arm for the rest of your life?"  
"Then again, I do have another pair just like them at home," she added hurriedly. She reached down to tear them, only to yelp in pain when she tried to move her right arm. Undeterred, she tried to tear them with her left hand.  
"God, let me do it," Knuckles said impatiently. Rouge eyed him suspiciously.  
"Any funny business, and I'll-"  
"Rouge, really, as if I'd do anything like that to you. Now hold still." Moments later Rouge's pants had become shorts. Rouge pouted like a spoilt child. She'd really liked those pants. Oh sure, she liked her arm too, but the pants! She sulked as Knuckles loosely knotted the pieces of material around her arm, holding the stick in place with one hand.  
"Okay, I'm going to tighten the knots on this, I need you to stay very relaxed, so it's tied on properly."  
"Of course I'll stay relaxed! I'm always relaxed! You know, me, Rouge, the relaxed one?" Her face was pale.  
"Just try, okay? On the count of three. One, two-" Knuckles yanked the knots tight. Rouge yelped painfully.  
"Aaah! That hurt! Hey, you didn't say three. Whatever happened to three? Don't you know how to count?" She demanded.  
"People always tense up on three. That's why I had to do it on two."  
"You could have at least warned me."  
"It wouldn't have worked if I warned you."  
"Fine, whatever you say doctor Knuckles." She paused. "Why are you doing all this?"  
"All what?"  
"You know, rescuing me from being frozen to death, fixing my arm, all that. Why are you doing it?" Knuckles shrugged.  
"You needed the help. Besides, if we're gonna get out of here, you'll be a lot more helpful to me alive and with a healing arm." Rouge shook her head.  
"I don't think I'll ever understand you, Knuckles."  
"Don't think this means we're friends now. As soon as we're out of here, it's back to being rivals."  
"That's more than fine with me." Looking up at the sky, Knuckles changed the subject.  
"We'd better find some shelter, it looks like there's a storm coming in. Follow me." Together, they slowly trudged up the snow-laden path.

----  
  
Sonic walked into the house, wondering why it was so quiet. Tails, who at this time would usually be curled up in front of the television, was no where to be seen. 'Maybe he just went to bed early? Yeah, that must be it.' He thought to himself.  
Tails and he had lived in the house for a little over a year now. Seeing as Tails was under age and without a guardian, Sonic had taken him in. It was great living with his best friend, anyway. It wasn't a huge place, but it was fine for just the two of them.  
  
He had been rather late returning home. The whole incident at the beach had really shaken him up, and he had been running to try and steady his nerves. Forget everything, feel nothing except for his feet pounding against the earth, the rest of the world nothing more than a colourful blur around him. Running always made him feel better. But the paranoia was still there, tiny but sharp like a splinter in his mind. He knew one thing for sure; he wasn't going anywhere near another beach anytime soon.  
  
Tails wasn't in his room either. Sonic felt a chill of fear creep up his spine. Tails wouldn't have gone out this late, he was too young. What could have happened to him? He was contemplating ringing his mobile when he heard a noise at the door. To his relief, a familiar orange figure was walking through the doorway.  
"Tails! I'm so glad to see you! Where have you been! You shouldn't go out so late, you know!"  
"Hey Sonic, it's okay, I was just at Eggman's lab."  
"Eggman's lab?! What on earth were you doing there? Did he kidnap you?"  
"Of course not! I was just helping him build some stuff, that's all."  
"Can't you hear what you're saying?!" Sonic exclaimed in disbelief. "You helped Eggman?"  
"Eggman's changed, Sonic, whether you like it or not. He's not evil anymore. He's making machines for good."  
"And you trust him! Tails, don't you realise what he could do to you? You're just a little kid." Tails glared.  
"Eggman doesn't treat me like a little kid. He respects me, which is more than what you've ever done!" Tails stormed off to his bedroom and slammed the door.  
"I didn't mean it like that! Tails!"  
"I'm not listening!" Sonic sighed. It was pointless trying to reason with him now. He'd try talking to him again in the morning. But really! Working with Eggman? He really thought the young fox had more sense than that. Then again, Eggman hadn't attacked them for a long while... either way, it still seemed suspicious.  
  
Sonic climbed up the stairs and into his room, pulling off his shoes and collapsing in a heap on the bed. How did everything get hard again so quick? Last night his biggest problem was trying to find a good meal in this town. Now there was possibly someone after him and Tails was working for the enemy! He stared at the ceiling. There was no getting to sleep at this rate. With a sigh, he sat up and put on his sneakers again. Perhaps if he ran a bit longer things would just sort themselves out.

----  
  
Amy arrived home shortly before midnight, kicking off her shoes before sprawling out on the sofa, massaging her aching feet. She was so sick of this mission. She had been after the same target for years! Why couldn't she go and blow something up for a change? She liked watching things burn.  
Thinking of burning, she found her lighter and lit a cigarette, inhaling sharply. She blew the smoke out leaving a hazy grey cloud about her, and leaned back into the cushions.  
  
She'd had years of training in the deadliest weapons in existence. She knew seven different martial arts, and could knock someone out with a single touch. All for nothing. All for her to do what seemed a pointless mission. She had spent years at it, earning the target's trust, convincing them that she was only fourteen years old. Pretending to adore that disgusting creature. Yet still he evaded her. Time after time, her attempts had been futile. It's not an easy life being an assassin. What made him so special that he somehow resisted every attack? Sure, the fact that she could not let his friends see her as she killed him made it harder, but it was only minor implications. She'd successfully disposed of many targets before, and none of them gave her near as much trouble as this one did.  
  
True, at first she had rebelled against the idea of killing him. He was one of her own. An anthromorphic creature, a 'furry' as they were known to most. But he had made it personal. This character she'd invented to ensnare his trust, the sickly sweet but kind hearted Amy Rose, he treated like dirt. Nothing more than a pest. And she hated him for it, hate that burned furiously inside of her, hidden deep beneath her artificial character but there none the less.  
  
And then there was Shadow. She had been so shocked to see him she reacted in a way which had now become a second nature. Excitable and clingy. Really, how couldn't they see through her false persona? She guessed no one was trying to. Who would suspect her? Yet if anyone would find out, it would be Shadow. She would have to watch herself around him. She could see herself looking into those fiery red eyes and in a moment of weakness revealing everything. Well, she just couldn't let that happen. Shadow was still too distraught about Maria to even think about her anyway. She felt stupid- it was as though she had a childish crush on him. Amy Rose didn't get crushes! Well, 'Amy Rose' wouldn't if Amy Rose was her real name.  
  
Well, sitting there all night being upset over the mission would get her nowhere. It was time to think of another plan. The swimming one was much too hasty. She would have to be more careful. And more clever. Amy leaned forward and put out the cigarette stub on the surface of the coffee table, burning another black mark into the wood. Satisfied with this minor act of vandalism she picked up a pen and began to scribble down some notes on a piece of paper. 'I will get you, Sonic the Hedgehog.' She thought as she wrote. 'You will see. Even if it kills me, I will destroy you.'

----  
  
Just as Knuckles had predicted, it had begun to snow, thousands of tiny white flakes falling swiftly from the sky, swirling in the wind to strike their faces, tiny shivers of coldness. Without exchanging a word they began to move faster, knowing just how dangerous it would be to get caught in the oncoming blizzard. They had yet to find any shelter, and the sky was getting whiter every moment. To make matters worse, that burst of energy Knuckles had attained during their encounter had worn off, and he was looking worse for wear, stopping every few moment to steady himself against a tree branch, muttering things to himself vaguely. Rouge was plagued with guilt. She really hadn't needed to use the Iron boots. Ordinary boots would have hurt him enough for her purposes. Even worse, after she had injured him so badly he had saved her! He had fixed her arm! Although it still hurt severely, it had died down to a constant stabbing pain. She watched him, feeling more terrible by the second. 'What kind of monster am I?' echoed through her mind. Once he had coughed up some blood, leaning heavily on the tree, he shook his head slightly and continued on. Rouge followed after him feeling utterly miserable.  
  
The blizzard gained strength. It was getting harder to see where they were going. The wind had increased and the snowflakes were lashing them fiercely, leaving thousands of scratches on their bare limbs. Knuckles suddenly staggered and Rouge jumped to his side, supporting him with her good arm. If Knuckles was surprised by this gesture, he was feeling too unwell to show any sign. They pressed forward but progress was getting increasingly difficult. "Come on, we have to keep going." Rouge said when Knuckles abruptly stopped to lean heavily against a tree.  
"I can't," He croaked, voice nearly lost in the wind. "I can't move anymore."  
"You have to Knuckles. You'll die out here otherwise. I don't think we have far to go." The bat part of her could sense a cave nearby, drawing her towards it, longing for the security it represented. Whether of not it was already occupied was a risk they were just going to have to take. "How can you tell? We can't see anything out here." His voice was cracked.  
"I can just sense a cave nearby. Trust me, it's a bat thing."  
"Trust you? I'm not sure if that's a good idea."  
"Oh, just come on!" Impatient, Rouge grabbed his hand and dragged him forward. She could no longer see anything at all, the snow was that thick, so she moved on instinct alone. Some time later, after struggling through the curtain of snow and having to backtrack a few times she had found the opening, a gaping black hole amongst the white. She sighed with relief.  
"We made it."  
"It's about time. I thought you said this thing was close."  
"Close enough! Besides, we're here now, aren't we? Let's just get in there before we freeze to death." He didn't disagree to that. They cautiously entered the cave, brushing snowflakes off themselves. Rouge observed their surroundings. The walls were very narrow, but the cave was deep- the path continued for as far as they could see. Although they had no way to be certain, it seemed that for now it would be safe.  
  
Exhausted by their efforts, they slumped to the ground, making sure there was a good distance between them. Watching the snow whirl around the mouth of the cave, their eyelids began to droop. Tiredness overcame them, and they both slipped from consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Amy grinned at the mirror, swirling around a bit for effect. The leather swirled with her, shining in the early morning sun. Today she had to report to the base, which meant she could go without her disguise until afterwards. Of course she wasn't actually looking forward to reporting back, what with failing her most recent attempt to kill Sonic, but she was getting sick of looking five years younger than she was, so this was a nice change. She wore all black (she despised colour), and mostly leather- the fact that an animal had suffered to make her look good amused her. True, the weather was too hot for such clothing, but the opportunity to wear something she liked for a change was too much too pass up. She had her hair hanging lose, framing her face with the curls that she usually tamed into obscurity. She looked good and she knew it. Of course, if any guys even thought about staring at her inappropriately she would kick them in the balls, but that was all part of the fun.

Checking that her knives and gun were easily accessible she stepped out of her house, blinking away the bright sunlight before slipping on her sunglasses. It wouldn't have taken her long to walk to the base, but she hailed a taxi and jumped in. In a profession such as hers it was easy to make enemies, and it wouldn't do for her to be recognised.

"Forty-five Welsh street please." She told the driver, drumming her fingers against the window sill impatiently. She started looking in her bag for a cigarette, but their journey had finished before she was able to fish one out. She paid the fare and got out, grumbling under her breath over the price.

She walked down the alleyway, her movements smooth from years of repetition. She walked up to a seemingly normal brick wall and pushed five bricks forward in sequence.

"What's the password?" A voice called, muffled through the wall.

"Doomsday," Amy answered. There was the sound of a lever being shifted and the wall slid back, allowing her entrance. She didn't bother to talk to the woman who had opened the door for her. Such people were lower than her rank and thus below her dignity. Besides, the whole system was stupid as it was. Much too Harry Potter-ish.

She followed a complex maze of tunnels, twisting around each other like a nest of snakes. She finally found the door she wanted and entered without bothering to knock. The elderly man at the desk looked up, unsurprised. Even though his fur had turned white in old age he still looked fearsome, his wolf teeth deadly sharp. Even Amy was subdued in his presence.

"Ah Dimitri, it's been a while. Do sit down." He gestured to the chair before his desk. She sat down, slightly confused until she remembered that Dimitri was her real name. She had been referred to as Amy for so long she was forgetting who she really was, in more ways than one.

"Anthros unite." The wolf put a fist to his chest. His voice was deep and serious.

"Anthros unite." She replied, repeating the ritual. It was a codeword, of sorts- anyone who knew it would be safe from the organisation. "It's nice to see you again, sir."

"I never thought you were one for mindless small talk, Dimitri."

"No boss."

"Well, let's get down to business, shall we? How is the mission going?" Amy diverted her eyes.

"My latest attempt failed sir. Seeing as the target is unable to swim I attempted to drown him. Unfortunately he overpowered me."

"Did he find out you were his attacker?" She felt incredulous at the question. Just who did he think she was? Some feeble-minded amateur? She suppressed the urge to yell at him.

"No sir, he has no idea."

"Good, let's keep it that way. I presume you have something else in planning?"

"I always do sir."

"Glad to see you're just as organised as always. However, be more careful this time; the drowning plan was too careless. A lot of things could have gone wrong." Amy tried her hardest not to scowl.

"It could have worked."

"But it didn't, did it? You know, you have spent quite a bit longer on this mission than we had originally planned, Dim. I have to send in someone else if you don't get results soon."

"I will get results sir. We underestimated this target but I will not make the same mistake again."

"See that you don't. Time is running out, and we must have him out of the way when we stage our big attack. Well, it's time you got back to work. You are dismissed." He turned his back to her, the conversation over. It took all her willpower not to throw something at the back of his arrogant head. Just who did he think he was? He treated her as a child! Her, one of the greatest assassins in the nation! The world, even! She was not fooled by his behaviour though. Underneath that mocking elderly exterior was pure violence, and he wasn't afraid to unleash it when he was upset. That one individual had so much power over her infuriated her. If he wasn't so needed by the group she would have killed him ages ago. If she ever did get around to destroying Sonic, this man would be the next on her list. She would crush the life out of him with her bare hands, wiping that smug expression off his face. But... not yet. He could still prove useful to her. Her hands were clenched into fists as she left the room.

Amy made her way to the outside, cursing at herself once or twice when she made a wrong turn. She was supposed to remember things like that. She stood at the curb and scanned the area for taxis, but she saw nothing. She stood there and waited for one to turn up, tapping her foot impatiently. Seeing as none were around at that moment, she sat on a nearby bench and lit up a cigarette. It was hard to support her addiction when her character was a non-smoker. She'd have to change that one day. Of course, if you asked her she would deny having an addiction. She could stop whenever she chose. She just chose to continue right now.

Getting frustrated, she stood up. She had been waiting there for ages and nothing had turned up. As much as she hated to risk it, she would have to walk back. Grinding her cigarette butt into the ground with a heavy boot, she proceeded to walk down the street.

She always disliked walking the streets because there was a good chance she would come in contact with humans. Horrible, inferior creatures. She pressed her sunglasses closer to her face and quickened her pace. Perhaps if she walked fast enough she wouldn't have to see any. If her organisation had their way she would never have to see another human again. But until that day came she would have to just avoid them.

----

Rouge gasped painfully as she woke up and quickly rolled off her side. In her sleep, she had rolled onto her injured arm. She carefully moved it from under her, and the pain started to fade. Why had she been so careless? If she hadn't gotten so close to the edge of the cliff, she would be back on the surface of the planet, filthy rich with the profits from the Master Emerald. But it was too late now. No use in complaining about it, she guessed.

She looked at Knuckles, who was lying a bit too close to her for comfort. He slept silently, undisturbed by the cold wind or her own faint breathing. The corner of his mouth was covered in dry blood, a hideous dirty crimson.

She was getting very sick of this way of life. Of having to hurt people to get what she wanted. Why, she and Knuckles could have almost been friends if they weren't working across purposes. Well, okay, perhaps not friends, she reflected, but there certainly would have been no need to hurt him as she'd done.

On an impulse, she reached out and brushed the blood away, staring as it stained her pale gloves. Knuckles didn't stir; he was within a deeper sleep than was usually possible. He looked so peaceful when he wasn't glaring at her. Quite attractive, really.

'Stop that!' she mentally snapped at herself. 'Don't you even dare think about Knuckles like that! He's your enemy! You're supposed to hate him!'

Her thoughts were disrupted by a banging noise from the back of the cave. She froze, ears pricked upward. Was it just in her head? It sounded again, definitely more than just imagination. It sounded as though something was being dragged through the dirt. She couldn't see in the dim light.

Worry was starting to consume her. She got to her knees and shuffled awkwardly towards Knuckles, progress hindered by her injured arm. She shook him gently.

"Wake up!" He muttered something unintelligible and rolled over. She shook him more aggressively.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Then noise sounded again, alarmingly close. Something growled softly. She could vaguely make out a hulking figure at the back of the cave, dragging something behind it. Her panic increased ten-fold. Swiftly, she grabbed a handful of snow from the entrance and dumped it on Knuckles' face. That woke him up.

"Huh? What's going on?" Knuckles muttered. Rouge slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh! Not so loud!" Confused, Knuckles moved a hand to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. Rouge grabbed the hand, trying to pull him away without losing her balance.

"We've gotta get away, there's something in here! Come on!" Still not totally awake, Knuckles was pulled along as she rushed out of the cave, noticing that the blizzard had stopped. She moved frantically for a few metres, only slowing down when she realised they were not being chased. She stopped at what she felt was a safe distance away.

"I think it didn't see us." She panted.

"And what was this thing, exactly?" Knuckles asked. His headache attacked him ferociously, but he was no longer coughing up anything. Still half-asleep, he leaned against a tree as he collected his thoughts.

"I don't know. Something big." He looked at her sceptically.

"Are you sure you weren't just imagining it?"

"Of course I'm sure! Well, I'm pretty sure I'm sure. I don't think I'm delusional." Knuckles sighed.

"Well, we'd better not risk it, anyway." He picked a direction and started walking, Rouge trailing him behind.

"It's going to get dark soon, we have to find shelter." He added.

"I did find shelter!"

"And a fat lot of good that did. Let's try and find something a bit less occupied this time, should we?"

"Hey, if I hadn't found that place, we'd both be buried under a metre of snow by now. I'd like to see you do better in the middle of a blizzard."

"Argh, just drop it okay. We're fine now, right? That's all that matters."

"Fine, but you started it."

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"You're acting like a child!"

"At least I'm not acting like a bitch!" Rouge froze, dumbfounded. Knuckles never spoke like that.

"You really think I'm a bitch?"

"You haven't given me much reason to think otherwise, have you?"

"How dare you! If that's the way you're gonna be, then fine! I'm not travelling with you anymore! You only slow me down anyway!"

"That's fine with me. Go and get yourself killed, see if I care." Rouge's glare was venomous.

"I hope you get eaten by a bear."

"With your choice of caves, that will probably happen to you first."

"Well, if that's the case, I'll see you in hell, because that's surely where you'll end up."

"The fires of hell, it's a date." Sick of this argument, Knuckles stalked off to the right, never looking back. After staring at his retreating back for a moment, Rouge shook herself and walked in the opposite direction, just as angrily as him.

----

Tails felt a warm glow of satisfaction as the last part of the robot fell away, freeing the animal trapped inside. This one was a bird, who looked dazed for a few moments before realising its freedom and awkwardly stretched its wings, looking sideways at its rescuer. A similar situation was happening on the other side of the room, where Eggman was also working to free an animal. They had been doing this all afternoon, but Tails still found it as rewarding as the first one he freed, even though he was exhausted and fairly sure that under his gloves his hands were covered in blisters.

Any doubts Tails had harboured of Eggman's motives had vanished when he witnessed the compassion the large man had for these tiny creatures. He truly did regret what he had done and was trying to set things right. Sonic had no idea what he was talking about.

The thought of Sonic gave him a tiny pang of guilt as he remembered how he'd snuck out that morning. Not that it had been a hard task- Sonic had been asleep on the couch when he'd gotten up, sneakers still muddy from running. He was snoring that loudly that any sounds Tails had made were covered by Sonic's chainsaw impression. But the thought still worried him. He and Sonic had been best friends for years- he'd always let Sonic know what was going on. To sneak out was almost like lying- and Tails detested lying.

The bird had recovered from its shock, and it gave a chirp of thanks before taking off, flying through a window they had left open so the flying animals could get out. Of course, not all the animals were that fortunate. Some were little more than corpses; sad, twisted creatures that cried mournfully as the light hit their faces for the first time in years. Not all could be saved, and it wrenched Tail's heart to crack open a robot only to be met with the acrid scent of decay. But the surviving animals far outnumbered the dying ones, so these gruesome moments were thankfully few and far between.

Tails wondered what Eggman would get him to work on. Saving all the animals they could was only the beginning- from what he could tell Eggman had big things planned, great things that would help many. Yes, Eggman had definitely changed. Tails couldn't see why they couldn't be friends. Perhaps he should even be Eggman's sidekick, rather than Sonic's. They certainly had more in common, and Tails felt as though he was actually doing something to help, not just standing on the sidelines as Sonic got all the glory. Eggman respected him, which was a lot more than how Sonic treated him lately.

Thinking of Sonic, Tails checked his watch. He figured he should be back by lunch time, before the blue hedgehog got too worried. That still gave him over an hour. Great.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Tails reached for the next robot, retrieving his spanner with the other hand. He couldn't wait to free the next animal. Happily, he got stuck into his task.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

Walking was taking longer than Amy had anticipated, and she was starting to get stressed. She had never paid much attention to her surroundings during the taxi rides and somehow or another she'd become lost, much to her irritation. The problem was, she was running behind schedule. It was nearly mid-day and she hadn't seen Sonic yet. She was supposed to be monitoring him by now, evaluating her next opportunity to attack. Plus she'd had to take care of a couple of construction workers along the way, who had decided incorrectly that she would appreciate being wolf-whistled at.  
Squinting at her watch, she decided that she had no time to head home to change. She would just have to visit one of the nearby department stores and buy something appropriately garish like Amy Rose would wear. Amy had started heading toward the nearest clothing shop when she spotted a familiar black and red figure on the edge of her vision. Swearing under her breath she ducked into the store, hiding behind a rack of clothing. What on earth was he doing here? He was heading for the store she was in, and if he saw her out of disguise he could ruin everything.

Grabbing a dress off the shelf without looking at it, she ran into one of the changerooms and slammed the door just as Shadow entered the store. She peered over the door of her cubicle as he walked in, looking disorientated. Why was he in a clothes shop anyway? It's not like he needed to wear anything other than gloves and shoes (although she had to admit he had very nice shoes), and perhaps a bracelet from time to time. He walked around the store for a while, examining different racks of clothing, looking completely lost. One of the store clerks, a female human, after a moments hesitation approached him and started talking. Amy could see that she was feeling awkward, most likely because she was talking to what most humans considered a giant animal. Stupid predjudiced humans.  
They wandered near the change room, and Amy ducked behind the door, holding her breath as they passed, pulse racing. She heard a snatch of their conversation;  
"So, they really didn't let you in there just because of that"  
"Yes. They didn't think they could trust me"  
"How rude. Some humans just don't understand"  
The pair moved out of her hearing range, and, when she peeked over the door again after a few minutes, they were out of sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, Amy got down from the door and had a proper look at the dress she'd snatched off the rack. It was an ugly orange colour, a size too tight, and not particularly flattering on her. Perfect.

Getting changed back into her normal clothes, Amy surrepticiously stuffed the dress into her bag and calmly walked out the door. By the time the store clerk realised the dress was missing, she was long gone.

----

The light was starting to fade, and Knuckles was feeling the cold, seeing as he was lacking any kind of protective clothing. Echidnas, even the kinda half-human echidnas such as himself, weren't built for such a climate. He shivered as he walked, searching for relief from the icy wind. It probably would have been better to stay where they had been, he mused to himself, imaginary monster or not. Better than freezing to death in any case. He and Rouge had beaten off all sorts of enemies in the past, some kind of bear or whatever it was that had scared her shouldn't have been too hard to deal with. But no, she'd insisted they leave. There probably had been no creature in the first place, Rouge was just trying to make him freeze and die in the snow so she could steal the Master Emerald back. Yes, that was it. She was out to get him! And to think, after all he had done for her. She would be buried under a metre of snow with a broken arm and most likely dead if it were not for him. Did that mean nothing to her? Was she just so obsessed with money? He could see her true nature now. Everything she did was motivated by greed. If she hadn't been after the Master Emerald they wouldn't be down here in the first place!

A wave of pain from his skull brought him back to reality. He was raving. The cold must've been getting to his head, for he never went on like this. No point in obsessing over that horrible excuse for a creature anyway. Just find shelter. And food. He couldn't recall ever being so hungry in his life. It felt as though his stomach was being eaten away by its own acid, dissolving from starvation. With a groan, he took more notice of his surroundings as he walked. What could he find to eat out here? He supposed real echidnas ate ants, but the mere thought of that was appalling to him. And he wasn't that familiar with the bush as it is. Any berries or plants he might find could be poisonous for all he knew. No, food could wait. Shelter was much more important right now. Knuckles made his way through the trees, often stumbling on tree roots, flesh scratched raw by the thorny branches. He'd already accumulated many scratches across his bare arms which were angrily red and bleeding. He would have to clean his wounds when he got a chance to rest, lest they get infected.  
The trees were starting to thin out, and there were less things to trip over. Knuckles had never realised he was so clumsy. Normally he would have glided over the trees when travelling through a densely forested area such as this, but whenever he'd attempted to take to the air he was so gripped by dizziness he had to land before he crashed. Something was seriously not right with his head. Perhaps she had given him a concussion? After all, he was far more scatter-brained than usual, his head was throbbing and although he had run out of things to throw up he still felt nauseous; the putrid taste of vomit and blood lingured in his mouth, bile still stinging the back of his throat.

He emerged in a clearing and the fading light hit his eyes, his path now unobstructed by trees. Before him was a steep rocky incline. Looks like he'd found a wall of the chasm. Great, that meant it would be relatively easy to get out. But not tonight. Climbing all the way up in the dark was not an attractive idea. He started to climb anyway, using claws as well as his feet, stumbling now and then as his mind swam. After ten minutes of climbing he discovered a hole, too small to be called a cave but enough to give some protection from the weather. Only a rock hanging really, but it was shelter all the same. Wearily, Knuckles crawled into it, cramped for space but thankful for the small protection it gave him. As he examined his surroundings, he pressed a hand experimentally on the back wall. It consisted of tightly packed dirt, but as he dragged his clawed glove against it he saw the earth fall away quite easily. Although he was past tired, he summoned his last reserves of strength and started digging, widening the hold just enough so that he could fit inside properly. At least now his legs would not freeze either.

He was starting to drift off, but a stinging from his arm as he leaned against the dirt wall reminded him that he needed to clean the shallow cuts on his arms, which were by this stage filthy and probably infected. With a lack of anything better to use, he scooped up a handful of half-liquid snow from the ground outside and pressed it to his arm, biting his lip as the cold of it hit him, sharply painful. It didn't seem to do a great deal, but the wounds did look a little cleaner so he left it at that.  
Completely worn out, Knuckles curled up as best he could and swiftly fell into a dreamless sleep.

----

It was early afternoon when Sonic woke up, still lying upon the couch. He looked around feeling disorientated, and slowly sat up with a groan. His neck ached from sleeping on an awkward angle and dried saliva was etched in a line down the right side of his face. With what felt like a huge effort Sonic slowly got to his feet and wandered into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge. His shoes, which were still dirty from his late-night run, left muddy footprints in his wake. As he drank milk from the carton, he had barely enough time to wipe away the white mark on his lip when the doorbell rang. Swearing under his breath, he ran a hand through his quills in a poor attempt to neaten the general dissarray and then answered the door. On his doorstep stood Amy, wearing a bizzare looking dress so close fitting it made him feel intensely uncomfortable. Swallowing heavily, he fixed his eyes firmly on her face.  
"What are you doing here?" He managed to croak, still removing sleep from his eyes.  
"Oh, Hi Sonic! I was just in the neighbourhood and I thought I'd drop by. Have I come at a bad time? Oh, never mind, now that I'm here it'll soon be a good time!" She swept past him into the house, leaving a confused Sonic to close the door. "Uh, would you like a drink or something then?" He asked lamely, those blank blue eyes demanding that he speak, or at least do something. Silence would not be tolerated.  
"Sure, that'd be great"  
Sonic returned to the fridge, its dismal contents offering little that might appeal to his uninvited guest. He settled with a jug of water, and began to fill up a glass.  
"Hey Tails, Get some lemonade when you go to the shops would ya?" He called up the stairs, but if Tails was up there he saw no sign. Perhaps he'd already left for the supermarket.  
Resigned to another afternoon of dull conversation, Sonic handed Amy her glass of water and then sat down on the couch himself, doing his best to look interested. As far as Sonic was concerned, things couldn't get much worse than this. It wasn't as though he actually hated Amy or anything like that, but he just got sick of her constant attention. I'm not that interesting, he told Amy silently. Get over it. Get over me. He watched her as she chatted away, how she leaned towards him as she spoke, licking the water off of her lips as though it was something much more potent that what she drank. He wondered if she was even aware of her body language. It seemed much more suggestive than a girl of around fourteen should even understand.  
"Would you like to go for a walk?" Amy asked, her eyes fixed on the slobber on his cheek with only the slightest hint of distaste.  
"Sure, I guess. Let me just get cleaned up." Grateful for the excuse to get away from her constant attention, if only for a second, Sonic left her for the bathroom. Splashing some water on his face and brushing his quills properly, he wondered how long he'd be able to hide in there before she'd come to find him. Only one way to find out...

----

In a different part of the chasm, Rouge was alot better off. Shortly after she and Knuckles had gone their seperate ways she had taken to the air, gliding easilyover obstacles similar to what Knuckles had struggled through. Her flight path was a bit wonky, given that her arm was jutting out to the side and hindering her wing, but she managed to travel fairly fast. Obviously she couldn't gain anywhere near enough height to get out of the chasm, but flying still made progress alot easier. After about half an hour of searching, she had been fortunate enough to find a rather large and clearly unoccupied cave. After examining it carefully, she accepted it as safe and started getting settled in. There wasn't much she could actually do to get settled in, but an uncomfortable lump in her pocket as she sat down reminded her that she was not without posessions. A minute's digging around in her two pockets resulted in a small pile of generally useless things; five rings, a set of keys, the gas mask, a small vial of the sleeping gas, several crumpled tissues(most of them dirty), her clawed gloves, a lock pick and a voucher for a free Happy meal at McDonalds. Put together with her watch, which broke upon the fall, and the metal from her boots, she had little of anything which would be of use to her. With a sigh, she shoved her inventory to one side and focused upon her next task.

Rouge decided she was in dire need of a fire. Athough it was no longer snowing, the night was still icily cold and a fire might keep wild animals away. She left the cave to find suitable branches and kindling, a task made somewhat more difficult considering the snow; everything was damp. After some effort she managed to accumulate a decent sized pile of kindling and sticks and headed back to her cave. There, she quickly ran into another problem; how was she supposed to light it with one hand? She had no matches on her person, and rubbing sticks together would surely take two hands. Well, she'd just have to be creative, wouldn't she. A small setback like this couldn't stop Rouge!

Twirling the stick with one hand had little effect, much as she had expected. Frowning at the pile, she had another idea. Using a combination of her good hand and her teeth, Rouge untied her boots and kicked them aside, grimacing at the blisters on her feet and chipped toenails. She made a mental note to get a pedicure as soon as she got back home. Leaning on her elbows, she tried twirling it with her feet, but quickly found that her toes were not as agile as she'd given herself credit for. She tried everything she could think of, involving various parts of the body, attempting to create sparks with the keys and her shoes, praying to gods she did not believe in, and staring at the pile of wood hopefully incase it would start to burn in pity, but the wood stayed stubbornly unlit. Eventually she collapsed in a heap next to it feeling utterly miserable. How could she hope to survive out here if she couldn't even light a fire? From what she had seen of the chasm, it would take a very lucky break for her to get out the next day, so she had better be prepared to be here for a while. Right now, she wished fervently that she hadn't driven Knuckles away. Yes, he was an arrogent bastard. Yes, she couldn't stand him. But he could have at least lit a fire for her, and together they would have a better chance of survival, she was sure. She would have to find him in the daylight and degrading as it is, apologise. She wasn't even sure why they were fighting as it is. Immature arguments. Foolishness. That's all it was.

Too tired to continue trying to light a fire, Rouge lay down and pulled the kindling over her in a poor attempt to keep warm. In days gone by, she would have hung from the rocky ceiling, but things had changed since then. She wasn't even really nocturnal anymore.

The moonlight threw an unearthly glow on her features as sleep slowly claimed her. She was plagued with nightmares, dreams that were full of fire and hatred, fractured images of people she knew slowly burning to death. A vision of Knuckles crying out to her, pleading for help, but her dream self simply laughed and left him to his fate.


End file.
